Walking across America to inspire Christians to take their faith seriously.
"Enthusiasm in one man ignites the same Fire in another." -St. Augustine

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Day 95

Your word is a lamp for my feet,

a light for my path. -Psalm 199:105

I just came into the town of South Hill, VA and just hit 2,400 miles and 5,166,063 footsteps. It was a blessing to have cooler weather for a week or so but it is starting to warm up again. Campgrounds are few and far between on the route I am on. It has been a few days since my last shower and I cannot wait to hit that ocean!

As I was going through a small town headed towards South Hill last night I was stopped by a friendly woman named Amanda. I talked with her for a while before leaving town. The sun was starting to go down and I decided to plunge into the night for a while to cover some ground and to make it closer to the finish line. I was forced to picth my tent right off the highway. After getting a few hours of sleep and putting on my sweat drenched clothes again I hit the road and stopped at the first gas station that I came upon. As I walked in I saw Amanda again! It's a small world I guess you could say! She was kind enough to make me a breakfast and coffee for free! I planned on doing this trip with what money I had saved and the items and food that I packed, but I am always blown away by people's generosity. What an unexpected blessing. Just ONE of the many stories of kindness and generousity along the way. Also, as I walked into South Hill, I was dreaming of a shower to wash off the three days worth of grit and sweat. I was randomly able to make daily Mass at a rather unusual time (noon). Some nice women hooked me up with a guy named Doug who managed a place called Shepard's Inn who let me shower for free! I walked down the road smiling thinking of what a blessing something as simple as a shower can be. Thank you!

Throughout this trip I have also been stopped by maybe twenty, or so, police officers and park rangers. They have been very kind and definatly living out the "serve" part of there job. I have been given homemade cookies, fruit, directions, and even short rides to a grocery store or a place to camp when storms have been biting at my heels. I just wanted to say thank you to all that have helped out along the way.

I have heard I am about 120 miles from Virginia Beach! I figure it will take around 3-4 days and I will arrive either this Saturday or Sunday. It is still tough going, even being this close, but I believe that as I get within a day or two of the ocean (when I can start to smell that salt) the adrenaline will start to kick in. I dont know if I will be able to hold back from running! I plan to spend two or three days on the coast and relax and enjoy the beauty while reflecting on the trip.

4 comments:

Wow you are almost there! It is hard to believe when you look at the map that you truly walked across AMERICA! We are praying this last leg of the journey flys by and you can rest and relax on the ocean like you have never RELAXED before! God has given you the gift of perserverance and fortitude to make this journey! What a grace! All is gift!!! LOVE, MOM

About Me

My name is Daniel Reinke and I have been a parishioner at St. Peter's for 18 years. In celebrating the year of faith here at St. Peter's I have felt called to go on a pilgrimage. I will be walking coast to coast across the country, offering up prayers and hardships of the journey, for the intention that Christians will take their faith seriously. I hope to inspire others to take a leap of faith with me in their everyday lives.

We should not read Scripture, or a book like Rediscover Catholicism, or any spiritual book for that matter, and not see our lives dramatically change. I have not always lived a good Catholic life, but God has been working on my heart and I felt called to make real changes in my life... and the change has been great!

I realize we all have different calls in life, whether it's religious life, marriage, or the single life. I am not asking for you to change your vocation, but to take your faith to the next level.

I plan to walk about 3,000 miles, plus or minus, depending on God's plan for me. I will be updating this blog along the way for you to follow. I ask only two things: 1.) Please pray for me as I will be praying for you. 2.) Take your faith seriously and help others to do the same.